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To reduce vandalism and increase emergency access at Discovery Park, parking will be strictly enforced

March 30, 2015

Summary

In response to community members, King County and the City of Seattle will step up parking enforcement at Discovery Park beginning April 6 to help prevent vandalism and ensure emergency access.

Story

In response to community members, King County and the City of Seattle will step up parking enforcement at Discovery Park beginning April 6 to help prevent vandalism and ensure emergency access.

Starting April 6, 2015, King County Wastewater Treatment Division and the City of Seattle Parks and Recreation will step up parking enforcement near Discovery Park’s beach, towing illegally-parked vehiclesat the owner’s expense.

Vehicles are currently not permitted to park in the emergency access areas next to the beach, on the walkways, in fire lanes or in the turnaround area.

Incidents of vandalism and other criminal activities around the treatment plant and the beach have become a growing health and safety concern over the past several years.

“Ideally, we’d like to avoid towing any vehicles,” said King County Wastewater Treatment Division Director Pam Elardo. “Our goal is to let people know we’re serious about towing violators so they park only in designated areas.”

To help people comply with park rules, and the stricter parking enforcement, there will be additional signage and clearly designated no-parking zones.

Community members suggested increased towing to address illegal activity.

Over the next year, King County and Seattle Parks will evaluate how well increased enforcement resolves safety concerns, and whether additional measures are needed to control problems at the Discovery Park Beach area.

Both agencies will continue working together to develop a proposal that will provide legal public access to the beach and parking lot, while protecting beach habitat and maintaining the safety at a critical wastewater treatment facility.

More information about Discovery Park/West Point Treatment Plant Security is available online at: